Tonsillotome.



S. G. SMITH.

TONSILLOTOME.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, 1914.

Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- W141 oz T'HE NORRIS PETERS CO4, FHOTO-LITHQ. WASH/NEW"! JD. C.

S. G. SMITH.

TONSILLOTOM'E.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, 1914.

1,142,919. 1 Patnted June 15, 1915.

v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wihaameo THE NORRIS PETERS 60., FHOTOYLITHDH WASHINGTON. D. c.

STEPHEN G. SMITH, OF HANNIBAL, MISSOURI.

TONSILLOTOME.

"Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 15, 1915.

Application filed August 8, 1914. Serial No. 855,853.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN G. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hannibal, in the county of Marion and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tonsillotomes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in surgical instruments and particularly to that type of surgical instruments known as tonsillotomes, the purpose of which is to effect the removal of the tonsils, adenoids, or other tissue growths located in places more or less inaccessible. I

l Vhile the instrument herein described is especially designed for removing the tonsils, it will be readily seen from the following description taken in connection with'the accompanying drawings, that the device may also be used for other operations during which a quick amputation is necessary for the successful completion thereof.

One object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described with means whereby the removal of the tonsils or other tissue growths may be made positive and very quick, thus rendering the operation substantially painless and also resulting in the loss of comparatively no blood by the patient.

Another object of the present improvements is to permit of the operator holding the instrument very firmly during the operation, thus decreasing the danger of amputating the tonsil or other member at the wrong place and also making it possible to perform the operation at approximately the instant the instrument has been properly adjusted with relation to the member or members to be amputated.

A still further object of the present invention is to construct the device so as the same may be operated by the pressure of the index finger when the handle of the instrument is grasped in substantially the same manner as the handle of a revolver is grasped, thus making it possible to operate the instrument without any special effort on the part of the operator in holdingthe cutting portion thereof in a comparative state of rest.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent from the following description, this invention comprises a spring actuated plunger housed within a barrel or casing, a cutting element mounted on one end of said spring actuated plunger and adapted to reciprocate within a guide member, said guide member being mounted on one end of said barrel or casing, and means wherebv said cutting element may be held in position against the action of said spring, in which position said cutting element is plunged forward by the releasing action of a trigger mechanism.

The invention also consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative only and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side view of the device, partly in elevation and partly in section. Fig. 2 is a view partly in section of the device showing the plunger in position to be released. Fig. 3 is a sectional View showing the action of the plunger reversed. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the trigger mechanism of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the trigger mechanism of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the trigger mechanism of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a detailed view of the spring used in connection with the trigger. Fig. 8 is a view of the bifurcated end portion of the barrel or casing. Fig. 9 is a de-' tail view of a modified form of the cutting element.

Like characters of reference are used to denote corresponding parts of the several figures. 7

Referring in detail to the drawings, this invention comprises a plunger rod 10 about which is coiled a spring 11. The plunger rod 10 and the spring 11 are preferably housed within a suitable barrel or casing 12 1 at one end of which is positioned a plug 13 held rigid with said barrel or casing 12. The plug 13 is provided with an aperture 1% through which one end 15 of the plunger rod 10 is adapted to extend. Said end 15 of the plunger rod 10 is preferably provided with screw threads 16 adapted to receive a suitable retracting member 17. At the other end of the plunger rod 10 is provided an enlarged cylindrical member 18, to which is attached a suitable cutting element 19 shown in the drawings as having an elongated shank 20, said shank terminating in a fan shaped cutting member 21. When the plunger rod 10, together with the spring 11, are placed in position within the barrel or casing 12, one end of said spring bears against the plug 13 which, as has been stated heretofore, is formed rigid with said barrel or casing 12, while the other end or" said spring is adapted to bear against the enlarged cylindrical member 18 formedat the other end of said plunger rod 10 and which is adapted to be reciprocated therewith.

For obvious reasons, the cutting element 19 is housed within a substantially fiat guide member 22, said guide member having positioned transversely therethrough a slot 23-, through which said cutting element is made to reciprocate. The guide member 22 is held in position by one end 23 of the barrel or casing 12. This is accomplished by hifurcating the barrel or casing 12 as at 24, of such proportion as to receive one end of the guide member 22, said end of the guide member 22 being provided with suitable bosses 25 adapted to fit within the bifurcated end 24 of the barrel or casing 12, and to hold the said guide member 22 against sidewise movement. Suitable screw plugs 25 are used to retain said guide member 22 from any movement which might be caused by the action of the spring 11. These screw plugs 25 may be readily withdrawn, thereby permitting the guide member being re moved for cleansing and sterilizing the instrument after using.

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 1 of the drawings, that that portion: of the guide member upon which are formed the bosses 25, and through which connection is made with the barrel or casing 12, forms a stop for the enlarged cylindrical portion 18 of the plunger rod 10, when said plunger rod 10 is reciprocated within said barrel or casing 12. The end of the barrel or casing 12 which is opposite said guide member 22, is shown in the drawings as provided with screw threads 26. These screw threads are adapted to receive a suitable handle 27 for the instrument, as shown at 4:0 in the drawings. One end of the handle 27 is provided with a suitable recess 28 for the reception of trigger mechanism29, said trigger mechanism 29 comprising an operating member 30 pivoted to lugs 31 positioned on said handle 27, and a retaining member 32 pivoted to said handle 27 within the recess 28 at 33. The operating member 30 and the retaining member are pivotally connected together at 34.

It will be seen from the foregoing that any movement of the operating member 30. either toward or away from the handle 27, will cause the outer end of the retaining member 32 to oscillate. A suitable spring 35 is shown in the drawings positioned around the pivot 33 ofthe retaining member 32, the extended ends of which are adapted to hear one against the retaining member 32, and the other against the re cessed portion 28. It will be noted that this construction will keep the trigger mechanism in its operative position at all times.

It will be noted from the foregoing that any backward pull upon the retracting member 17 positioned on a portion of the plunger rod 10, will cause the coil spring 11 to be compressed, and will also, in view of the fact that the cutting element 21 is attached to one end of the plunger rod 10, cause said cutting element 21 to retract within the guide member 22. The retaining member 32 of the trigger mechanism 29 is, through the medium of the spring 35, held above the horizontal plane of the under portion of said retracting member 17. From this construction, it will be noted that upon pulling the retracting member 17 backward, the outward end of the retaining member 32 will be forced downward until said retracting member has passed the outward end of said retaining member 32, whereupon the spring 35 will force the outward end of the retaining member 32 upward, thus preventing the spring 11 from forcing the plunger rod 10 back into its state of rest. The cutting element 21 from this position, can be released by a slight pressure being exerted by the operator upon the operating member 30 of the trigger mechanism 29-. It will be noted from Fig. 1 of the drawings that such pressure wil tend to raise the joint 34: thus lowering the outward end of the retaining member and thereby releasing the retracting member 17, whereupon the tension of the spring 11 will force the cutting element 21 outward to the position illustrated in Fig. 1.

A modification of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, wherein the action of the spring 11 is reversed in order to have the spring 11 force the cutting element backward instead of forward. it will be noted from this construction that when the spring is mounted within the barrel or-casing 12 and around the plunger rod 10,- that the same will bear against the rigid plug 39 at one end and against the enlarged cylindrical member 18 at the other end, which member is formed rigid with the plunger rod 10 and accordingly is adapted to reciprocate therewith. Thus any movement of the plunger rod forward, will tend to compress the spring 11, thus storing up energy which is utilized in operating the cutting element when the retracting member 17 is released by the trigger mechanism. In order to accomplish this result it is merely necessary to place an additional plug 89, which is rigid with the casing 12, at that end of said barrel or casing 12 which is nearest the guide member 22, and to form the enlarged cylindrical portion 18, which is adapted to reciprocate with the plunger rod 10, near the opposite end of said plunger rod 10. In this modification the trigger mechanism is substantially the same as that disclosed in the other figures of the drawing with the exception that the retaining member 32 is provided with a projection 36, said projection 36 being adapted to lock the retracting member 17 from being forced outward when the same has been pushed inward against the action of the spring 11. It is obvious from this construction that the cutting element 21 may be provided with an aperture 37 adapted to register with the aperture 38 formed in the guiding member 22, when the retracting member 17 has been locked in its forward position by the trigger mechanism 29.

In the operation of the device, the retracting member 17 is drawn backward or pushed forward as the case may be, until the retaining member 82 of the trigger mechanism 29 hasengaged the same, thus looking it in a position to receive the outward force of the spring 11. The handle of the instrument is then grasped in a manner substan tially similar to that in which the handle of a revolver is grasped, and the operating member 30 of the trigger mechanism pulled inward by a slight pressure of the index finger, thereby releasing the retracting member 17 and forcing the cutting element 21 rapidly forward or, in case the modification described herein is used, retracting the cutting element rapidly backward, thus amputating the tonsil or other tissue growth, around which the instrument has been adjusted prior to operating the same.

It is obvious that this invention is not limited to the precise construction shown in the drawings, as various modifications and alterations may be made therein, by one skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the class described comprising a spring, a plunger rod positioned within said spring, a cutting element positioned on one end of said plunger rod, a re tracting member positioned on the other end of said plunger rod, and in alinement therewith, and trigger mechanism cooperating with the retracting member of said plunger rod thereby locking said cutting element in position against the tension of said spring.

2. In a device of the class described, a spring actuated plunger rod housed within a barrel or casing, a cutting element mounted on one end of said plunger rod, a retracting member mounted on the other end of said plunger rod, a handle detachably mounted on said barrel or casing, the upper portion of said handle lying in juxtaposition to said retracting member and substantially parallel thereto, and means carried by said upper portion of thevhandle adapted to engage said retracting member thereby locking the cutting element in a strained position.

3. In a device-of the class'described, a handle, a spring actuated cutting element, and means cooperating therewith for looking and releasing said cutting element, said means comprising a retaining lug, an operating member and a spring adapted to hold said retaining lug in operative position, said retaining lug and operating member being separately pivoted to said handle, and pivoted to each other. I

4. In a device of the class described, a handle, a spring actuated cutting element, and trigger mechanism mounted on said handle and adapted to control the action of said cutting element, said trigger mechanism comprising an operating member and a retaining lug separately pivoted to said handle, and pivoted to each other.

5. In a device of the class described, a spring actuated plunger rod mounted within a barrel or casing, a guide member, a cut ting element housed within said guide member, a plurality of bosses on said guide member, said barrel or casing being bifurcated at one end thereof and adapted to engage the bosses of said guide member, thereby retaining the same against displacement.

6. A device of the class described comprising a spring actuated plunger rod mounted within a barrel or casing, trigger mechanism to control said plunger rod, a guide member, a cutting element housed within said guide member, a plurality of bosses positioned on said guide member and adapted to receive one end of said barrel or casing, said bosses forming a stop for said plunger rod, thereby limiting its forward movement.

7. A device of the class described comprising a barrel or casing, a spring actuated plunger rod housed within said barrel or casing, a cutting element attached to one end said operating member with said retaining of said plunger rod, and a handle detachlug. 10 ably secured to said barrel or casing, said In testimony whereof, I affix my signahandle having a recessed portion provided tur -in presenee of two Witnesses.

With a plurality of lugs adapted to receive STEPHEN G.- SMITH. an operating member, a spring actuated re- VVitnesses':

taining lug pivoted to said handle Within W. F. ARNOLD,

said recessed portion, and means connecting JOSEPH GREENVILLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C." 

